Courtenay has responded to Carey bemoaning the decline of serious reading and in doing so, has suggested that Carey is a bit of a literary snob.
A very crude summary would be that this is a debate of sales versus substance. This seems like a good moment to confess that I groaned inwardly at the prospect of reading one, not to mention several, Bryce Courtenay books. I don't believe I've ever read one of his titles, not even The Power of One. But then neither have I read anything by Peter Carey, but I feel like I should have. Yip, hands up who's the literary snob - me! And a totally uninformed one. Shame... but soon to rectify the situation, thanks to this marvellous list and its amazing Minestrone Soup of titles to slurp my way through.
PS on my recent trip to Sydney, one taxi driver who's an avid reader, confessed a strong dislike of Courtenay's writing. And yet meanwhile, some of my ex-pat South African, now-Kiwi friends are currently reading and enjoying some of Bryce Courtenay's books. Definitely need to dip in and taste for myself!
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